Nonset automatic stop for phonographs



c. H. TAGGAR T. NONSET AUTOMATIC STOP- FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 7, I920- Patented May 30,1922. I

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESS llVI/EAITOR ATTORNEY UNITED, STAES;

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NONSET AUTOIMATIC STOP FOB PHONOGRAPHS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May so, 1922.

Application filed. December 7, 1920. Serial No. 428,953.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE H. TAGGART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Washington, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nonset rlutomatic Stops for Phonographs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sound reproducing machines of the popular phonograph type, and for convenience of description the term phonograph will be used hereinatter as typii'iying any machine of this general nature irrespective of the precise species to which my improvements may be applied.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an automatic stop for phonographs which after being properly applied to the machine will infallibly act to set the bralre when the end of the sound groove is reached by the needle, irrespective of previous adjustment or setting or the mechanism at or prior to the beginning of the playing of any record.

In my extensive experience in the making and operation of automatic stops for phonographs I have observed that numerous attempts have been made heretofore to produce a non-set automatic stop, and while some of the previous devices have been successful in a limited degree, so far as I am aware no one else has ever produced an actual non-set device that will act infallibly to stop the machine at the end of the record, irrespective of the scope of the field 01" action of the needle with respect to the center of the turntable and without some special attention on .the part of the operator at the time of application of the needle to the record. v

In an ideal automatic stop for phonographs it is desirable that the machine be started and the needle applied to the record without any thought or attention on the part of the operator with respect to the subsequent action or stopping of the machine. In view of this fact it is a common practice for the reproducer to be held in the opera tors hand momentarily or for an indefinite period while. the turn table is being set into motion and the needle is being applied to the beginning of the spiral groove. During this brief interval of time the reproduce-r may be held stationary or be moved either to the right or left with respect to the centerof the turntable. Hence while the automatic stopping operation is of such a nature that it becomes effective to stop the machine at the timethe needle ceases to advance gradually toward the center ofthe turntable, it is important that some means be provided to prevent the stopping action of the automatic devices when the reproducer or needle is being manipulated as above set forth, it being.

remembered that under the ordinary conditions for the reproducer to be held from movement toward the center ofrotationor moved to the right, the action of the stopping mechanism will'be' initiated. In other words for ordinary purpose's'such as in the playing of standard ten or twelve inch records there maybe considered two, fields of action for the needle with respect to the automatic stop, first, the starting field or that portion of the recordpertaining to the settingof the needle and starting cit-the machine, at which time the automatic stopshould be neutral or inactive to prevent any possibility ofpremature action or stopping terit'ere, a different set of facts are observed when it is attempted to play a, cheaprn niature or toy record vwhose starting field reaches hardly outward radially to or beyond the stopping fieldof the aforesaid standard records.

Among the primary objects'therefore of i this present improvement is to providefa non set automatic stop that is adapted for reliable and satisfactory use in connection with,

records of anydiameter and irrespective of the scopeot their respective starting and stopping fields. I

More definitely stated inthe carrying out of the primary object of this invention provide an automatic stop which willopcrate quickly and effectively to stop the mechanism when the end of the groove is reached irrespective of .the distance of the needle from the center of rotation, but which will not become effective until atter theturntable has made a large enough number of turns after starting to give the operator ample time to set the needle without any danger of initiating the brake mechanism.

With the foregoing and other objects in View the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l is a plan view of one form of improvement, parts of the turntable and record being broken away to better indicate my improved structure.

Fig. 2 is an. enlarged detail plan view showing the normal operating position of the floating lever and parts associated therewi.th, said lever being about to be struck by the contact member.

Fig. 3 is a similar View of the same parts just after the floating lever has been struck by the contact member.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same mechanism including also a diagrammatic representation of the brake, the setting of which has been initiated by co-operation of the contact member with the actuator.

Fig. 5 is a vertical detail view as from the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention, the position of the parts corresponding substantially to that of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same corresponding in action to Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a plan view indicating the trippingposition.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the lower portion of the devices as from the line 99 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a vertical longitudinal section substantially on the line 10-10 of Fig 6.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings I show a phonograph including a deck 10, turntable 11 having a center post 12, a tone arm 13, reproducer 14 and needle 15 adapted for usual movement over the turntable toward the center post 12 coincident with the playing of the record on a disk 16, all of which are or may be of any suitable or well known construction. Likewise I do not desire or need to be limited in the practice of my invention to any special form of brake mechanism, but for thepurpose of illustration I indicate a brake shoe 17 connected to a brake lever 18 pivotedat 19 upon the deck beneath the turntable and cooperating with a tripping lever 20 pivoted at 21. A spring 22 connected to the brake lever and anchored at its other end at 23 tends to set the brake. To release the brake the operator simply shoves outward or rearder 24 on the lever 18. Duringthis move ment of the tripping lever the pin 25 wipes over the rounded cam shaped end 26 of thebrake lever coming to rest upon a short straight portion 26 thereof. The normal co-operation between the pin 25 and said straight or depressed portion 26 of the cam end of the brake lever will normally resist the tension of the spring 22 and so hold the brake shoe spaced from the periphery of the turntable. A slight movement, however, of the tripping lever 20 away from the stop 24, which may be performed either by hand applied to the outer end of the tripping lever or by suitable mechanism co-operating with the inner end of the tripping lever will suffice to withdraw the pin 25 from holding position and permit the spring to set the brake as shown in Fig. 1. If desired an antifriction roller may be mounted upon the pin 25 to facilitate the tripping action. This brake mechanism is relatively simple and practically noiseless as well as occupying an inconspicuous the turntable.

In a simple form of the mechanism as ilposition mainly beneath lustrated in the first set of figures-the means for operating the tripping lever automatically includes but two principal parts, namely a floating lever 27 having an annulus 28 surrounding the base of the tone arm and having partial movement with the tone arm around the vertical axis of said base but still having freedom for independent movement all as specifically described and claimed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,827,501, issued to me on the 6th day of January, 1920. For the purpose of the present description sufiice it to say that the connection between the annulus 28 and the tone arm is such that when the tone arm is swung outward by the operator prior to the placing of a record on the turntable and the starting of the machine the floating lever 27 is likewise swung outward from the center of the turntable and when the tone arm is manipulated or moved by operation of the machine inward toward the center of rotation the floating lever will be brought back in a corresponding direction, but as indicated by a slot 29 at the base of the tone arm the floating lever is adapted for independent movements within certain limits.

The contact member consists of a lug 30 carried upon a hub 31 of a wheel 32 jour- -naled for rotation around a vertical axis 33 at one side of the center post 12, the wheel 82 being driven in the direction indicated by a friction wheel 34 connected to the cenwill be several rotations of turntable to each rotation of the contact member, but at no time will the turntable be permitted to make more than two or three rotations after the end of the groove is reached by the needle 15 prior to the setting of the brake.

The tripping lever is adapted to be struck by an actuator 35 in the nature of a bar having a longitudinal slot 36 through which project a fulcrum pin 37 carried by the floating lever and an anchor pin 38 fixed adjustably as by means of a screw 39 to the deck 10. The anchor pin 38 after the device is once adjusted is stationary. The ful crum pin 37 is fixed to and is carried by the floating lever 27 and so is held at a substantially constant distance from the anchor pin 38 although the fulcrum pin in practice describes short arcs around the center of the tone arm base as will be under stood in comparing Figures 2 and 3. In Fig. 2 the fulcrum pin is at the left of the anchor pin, while in Fig. 3it' is atthe right. These relative positions ofthe pins 37 and 33 determine the position of the actuator 35 with respect to the axis of the floating lever. Since these pins both he in the slot 36 and substantially fill the slot transversely it follows that with the pin 38 fixed in position the fulcrum pin in its movements will cause the swinging of the actuator around the fixed pin 38. At the same time the slot 36 is long enough to permit endwise reciprocations of the actuator, in one direction for tripping the lever 20 by operation of the contact member 30, and in the other direction by a spring 40 anchored at one end to the fulcrum pin 37 and at the other end to the rear end of the actuator.

The front or free end of the floating lever is provided with a beveled edge 41 which in the normal position of the lever as shown in Fig. 2 lies diagonally across the periph-' cry of the hub 31 and in the path of the contact member 30,-this position being maintained by virtue of the movement of the needle 15 toward the center post and the frictional connection between the tone arm and the floating lever. In this normal position of the floating lever the front end of the actuator 35 is held outward away from the path of the contact member 30 and at one side of the beveled face 41 by virtue of the two pins 37 and 3S acting in the slot as above described- The actuator, however, is held forward by virtue of the'spring 4-0. At each rotation of the wheel 32 the contact member wipes against the beveled face ll and throws the free end of the floating lever to the right as shown in Fig. 3, a. result per mitted by the frictional or slip connection between the tone arm and the floating lever. This movement of the floating lever to the right causes a rotation of the actuator around the anchor pin 38 .in the opposite direction as a result of the movement of the anchor pin 37 toward the right, thus bringing the front or free end of the actuator inthe path of the contact member. During the normal running of the machine by-the ward toward the center of the hub and into time the turntable has made a sufficient number of turns to bring the contact member once again around lnto active position the frictional connection between the tone arm and the floating lever will have restored said lever to its normal position of Fig. 2-

and has caused the return of the actuator to its position shown in the same figure. If, however, the tone arm has ceased to move inward toward the center ofthe turntable,

as results when the needle has reached the end of the groove there will be ndreturn of the floating lever and actuator to their normal position and so with the actuator 35 left in the position shown in Figs. 3 it will be struck by the contact member on its next approach and consequentlythe actuator will be reciprocated into tripping contact with the tripping lever as shown in Fig.4.

The swinging of the actuator in a horizontal plane around the anchor pin 38' is limited by stop means 42 in the form of pins projecting upward from the floating lever on opposite sides of the actuator. The spring l0 has no appreciable effect upon this swinging of the actuator and hence the tendency of the actuator is always to remain in any, position intowhich it may be moved around said anchor pin, untilv it is 43 of the actuator which co-operates with the left hand stop 42 serves to cause the actuator to be thrown over toward the opposite stop 42 coincident with the forward reciprocation of the actuator. To this end the edge is shown inclined or curved or with the actuator flared rearward toward the main portion thereof having the slot. This concave edge 43 moreover insures that while'the contact member 30 is. acting to carrythe actuator rearward the left hand stop 42'w1ll not cause the premature d1sconnection between the contact member and the point of the actuator. Thefloatingl'ever is .notched out at 44c so'as to clear the anchor pin 38. I e

Referring now to the other form of the invention as illustrated in Figs. (5 to 10 the floating lever, 2'7 is substantially the same in effect as the onealready described, but instead of being provided at its free end with a beveled face 41 there pivoted upon: the

front end of the lever a link or lever35 the pivot being indicated at a5 and fixed with respect to the front end of the floating lever. Back of the pivot the actuator member 35 is formed with a lateral edge or face 41' which co-operates with the contact member in the same manner as above described in connection with the beveled face ll. In other words as shown in Fig. 6 in the normal running of the machine the contact member 30 strikes and wipes along the edge 41 and so throws the rear end of the member 85* to the right around the pivot 45 to the position shown in Fig. '7. The actuator member in this form of the invention is very similar in function to the actuator 35 above described, it being pivoted by means of an anchor pin 3? to the floating lever and a pin 37 fixed to the rear end of the member 35. These pins 37 and 3?" both operate in a slot 36 formed inthe actuator 35. The spring extends between the pin 3? and the rear end of the actuator 35 and tends to hold the actuator forward as in the other form. When the contact member 80 throws the rear end of the member 85 to the right as above set forth the pin 3'7 is likewise carried to the right and being back of the fixed pin 37 the front end or point of the actuator 35 will be swung positively toward the left and thus brought into the path of the contact member 30 on its next approach. ln this connection it is to be remembered that the front end of the actuator in either form of the invention ere tends forward farther than the active in clined face first acted upon by the contact member so that there is no interference between these two members which are intended to be actuated by the same contact member at their proper times. In other words as shown in Figs. 3 and 7 the point of the actuator is not brought into the path of the contact member by actuation of the contact member against the inclined face ll or 43. until after the contact member has passed the point of the actuator. The swinging movements of the actuator 35 around the anchor pin 37 are limited by stop members 42 shown in this form of the invention as beingbent upward from the right edge of the floating lever.

In this form of the invention the floating lever and actuator devices carried thereby are movable more freely toward the right with the outward swing of the tone arm than in the other form of the invention, but the swing of the floating lever toward the axis 33 of the operating devices is limited by an anchor pin 88 adjustably connected. to the deck of the machine by a fastener 39. and the movement of the front or free end of the actuator 35* is limited in its movement toward the left by a stop d6 likewise adjustably connected to the deck by means of a screw 47. lVhen the floating lever is carried to the left by the normal action of the needle in the spiral groove the front end of the actuator 35" will approach the stop 4-6 gradually and by the time the floating lever will be car ied far enough toward the left for the beveled face 41 to approach the path of the contact member 30, the front end of the actuator 35 will engage the stop d6. Since the stop to after once being adjusted is a fixture and limits the movement of the member which engages it the fact that the pivot l5 is carried by the floatinglever will cause the rear end of the member 35 to travel faster toward the left and so insure the swinging oft-he actuator 35 to the left as shown in Fig. 6. By no possibility therefore can the point or front end of the member 85 be struck by the contact member so long as the floating lever is being urged toward the left. The operation of this form of the invention as thus far described is pr ctically the same as that detailed in connection with the first set of figures.

By referenceto the diagram of the turntable in Fig. 1 the heavy dot and dash lines 41-8 and l9 may be understood as indicating the beginning and the ending respectively of a short record carried by a large disk,-it being understood that the only record carried by the disk frequently terminates far outward from the center of the turntable, and also it is not uncommon for two independent records to be carried by the same face of the same disk, the outer one consequently terminating anywhere in the neighborhood of the half-way point between the periphery and center, or even farther out. in view of this condition it is essential for the perfect automatic operation of any nonset stop that the brake actuating means must be capable of operation by the time the needle approaches the end 49 of said short record. This condition will-be appreciated from 1 which indicates the needle 15 as closely approaching the finishing line as. The stopping mechanism therefore asindicated on Fig. 1 will during the next several turns of the turntable be brought into co-operation with the moving contact member 30 and so by the time the needle reaches the end of the record of the stopping mechanism will be operative for its purpose. If now another record carried by a disk of a smaller diameter or by the central portion of the aforesaid larger disk and whose, starting line may be represented by the light dot and dash line 50 is to be played it will be appreciated that if the needle be applied to said line 50 either the operator must exercise peculiar care in so applying the needle, toinsure that the needle must be applied either promptly or in a direction of movement toward the center of the turntable in order to prevent a possible premature action of the brake, or

else some mechanical means must be applied to prevent the operation of the brake within that numberv of turns of the turntable that will give ample time for such manipulation of the needle. In other words with th e brake mechanism in position to be actuated bythe contact member 30 while the reproducer and the needle are held in the region of .the starting line 50, if the operator is too deliberate in the applying of the needle to the record or should hold or move the needle in any position or direction other than the movement toward the left there is the danger that the contact member will strike the actuator and prematurely set the brake and thus pre vent the playing of the desired record. To obviate this difliculty in a manner that will be performed unconsciously to the operator is one of the principal objects of this present improvement, and among the means for carrying out this object I provide what may be called a safety device shown herein as in the nature of a cam 51 pivoted at 52 to the floating lever 27.

The cam 51 normally or preliminarily projects to the left of and beyond the floating lever somewhat as indicated in Fig. 9. The cam is always swung to the left around its pivot 52 as a result of the movement of the floating lever outward for the usual purposes of applying a record or the like by contact between a fixed-lug 53 fixed to the deck 10 and a lug 54 projecting downward from the bottom of the cam. While the cam 51 is freely pivoted on the vertical pivot 52 there is nothing acting upon it to shift it from the position given it by action of the lug 58 until the floating lever is restored back toward the center for the normal operation of the automatic stop. On the first approach therefore of the cam 51 toward the path of the contact member 30. the cam will strike against the pin 38 held in fixed and adjusted position by virtue of the screw 39. The cam is so designed that by its co-operation with the fixed pin 38' the cam will be struck successively by the contact member and so moved through short steps toward the right around its pivot during a number of turns of the turntable. say anywhere from five to twenty of such turns before the cam will be swung or turned out of its safety position as indicated. in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 and thus permitting the functioning of the stopping mechanism as already described. The number of turns thus provided for the turntable before the automatic stopping devices can become functional will always be ample to permit the operator to set the needle, irrespective of the length of a record or the radial distance from the center of the turntable to the beginning line thereof. In this preliminary operation of the safety device it will be noted that the co-operation between the cam and the pin 38 will temporarily prevent the functioning of the fixed stop d6, which however comes into use after the cam has been moved out of safety position.

'1. In a non-set stop for phonographs, the combination with airotating member and a, reproducing device movable'during the normal playing of the record in predetermined direction over the rotating member, of an automatic brake, means to cause the reproducing device to co-operate with the automatic brake as the end of the record is approached, and a'safety device to prevent the premature setting of the brake device, aid safety device including a' member acted upon by the rotating member aforesaid during the preliminary turns thereof, to cause the withdrawing of the safety device out of its position to permit subsequently the intended operation of the brake device.

2. In a non-set stop for photographs, the combination with a rotating. member, reproducing means movable over the rotating member toward the end of the record and a 'brake device serving to stop the rotating member automatically when the end of the record is reached by the reproducing means, of a safety device carried by the brake device and including a cam acted upon initially by the rotating member to hold the brake device inoperative and so prevent the premature action of the brake device.

3. In a non-set stop for phonographs, the combination with a turntable, a contact member caused to be rotated thereby in a plane parallel to the turntable, a tone arm J movable over the turntable toward the con-I tact member and a brake device serving to stop the turntable when the end of the record is reached, said brake device including a tripping lever, a floating lever and means carried by the floating lever to make operative connection between the contact member and the tripping lever of the brake device,

and a safety device carried by the floating lever in substantially theplan'e of the contact member and serving by preliminary cooperation with the contact device to'prevent premature action of the brake device.

43 In a non-set stop for phonographs, the combination with a turntable, a rotating contact member operated thereby in a plane vent the premature action of the brake device, said safety device including a camacting initially to preventthe co-operation be tween the contact device and the brake device but acted upon by the contact device to move it by successive rotations of the contact device into idle position.

5. In a non-set top for phonographs, the combination With a movable contact memher, a turntable causing the movement of the contact member in a predetermined direction and a reproduce movable over the turntable toward the contact member While the record is being played, of a brake device co-operating With the contact member to set the brake When the end of the record is reached, said brake device including a floating lever movable in a certain direction corresponding to the direction of movement of the reproducer, and an actuator carried by GEORGE H. TAGGART. 

